Hey Zombie Zappers! ⚡

Content Update 5 (CU5) is here, bringing back Zapture along with a bunch of bug fixes and changes!  This update is on the lighter side as we’re hard at work on bringing bigger changes to the game. You can read more about it in our recent Note from our Game Director.

What’s Sprouting in CU5?

Zapture Plant Pass! ⚡

Get ready to ride the lightning because Zapture is back! This electrifying zombie zapper is created by merging a Lightning Reed with a Prick-erel Weed. You can unlock those plants in this Plant Pass along with Tangle Kelp, Spikeweed, and Zaptail. The Zapture Plant Pass goes live on August 19th.

Dave’s Kitchen doesn’t have any experiments cooking this time around, but keep an eye out for them in future updates. Until then, here’s a list of all the changes and fixes in this update!

Changes & Fixes 🛠️

Art & Animation 🖼️

• Fix: The Pole Vaulter Zombie now has the correct defeat animation, showing a broken pole only when appropriate.
• Fix: The Meteorite has returned to its rightful place in various cutscenes.
• Fix: The Buckethead Zombie's icon in the Sewers now features a properl bucket handle.
• Fix: The Living Snap's explosion effects are now correctly displayed on top of the soil in Sewer levels.
• Fix: The Volleyball Zombie now has a proper defeat animation when defeated by melee plants.
• Fix: The destruction animation for Zombee units hit by Nippy Cabbage is now perfectly timed.
• Fix: Zombees now fly over water tiles without causing a splash animation.
• Fix: The Pigeon Feeder now moves forward correctly as pigeons arrive on the board.
• Fix: Visual improvements have been made to Zombee units when they appear in a level.
• Fix: The Nacho-Naut Imp now appears as intended in the Almanac.
• Fix: The Devastator Perk bomber's appearance is now synced with its sound effects.
• Fix: The Basic Volcano Zombie's shoe now stays on during its entire defeat animation.
• Fix: Dr. Zomboss and the Z-Scout Imp's shadows are now properly centered in Chapter 15 cutscenes.
• Fix: Sunflower leaves now stay neatly on top of the ground during Chapter 14's cutscene.
• Fix: The Gargantuar's weapon now stays above the ground during the Chapter 13 cutscene.
• Fix: The Horseshoe Pit decoration has been properly centered.
• Fix: Iceberg Lettuce's defeat animation no longer overlaps with other objects.
• Fix: The Goalie Zombie now has a proper defeat animation.
• Fix: The soil pop-up animation for a frozen Volcanologist Zombie now ends at the correct time.
• Fix: Removed Gnomes.
• Fix: The Pole Vaulter Zombie now has a pole-breaking animation when defeated before using its ability.
• Fix: The snow pile for Nippy Cabbage has been restored.
• Fix: Puff-shrooms in the Zen Garden no longer float.
• Fix: Plant projectiles now visually connect with the Es-Garg-ot, matching the damage they deal.
• Fix: The Freezer Salad plant now appears in high quality in the Zen Garden.
• Fix: The black outline for Lightning Reed has been restored in the Almanac, Lawn Patrol, and Zen Garden.
• Fix: The Solar Pea's mouth is now correctly framed in the Almanac.

Gameplay 🎮

• Fix: Mo now interacts correctly with idle state Zombees that enter the home area.
• Fix: The Chiller and Heat Seeker Perks now correctly target airborne zombies like the Balloon Zombie and Nacho-Naut Imp.
• Fix: The Deadlift Zombie now performs its special ability correctly when a tall unit is placed in the fourth column.
• Fix: Lychee now correctly focuses its attacks on ground units without affecting air units.
• Fix: Air Zombies are now correctly affected by the Knockback perk.
• Fix: The Counter Punch Zombie now takes damage from Puff-shrooms as intended.
• Fix: The Counter Punch Zombie now maintains its position when attacking units behind it.
• Fix: The Counter Punch Zombie now faces the correct direction when counterattacking melee units behind it.
• Fix: Mega Sunshroom now automatically collects suns within its intended 5x5 area.
• Fix: Umbrella Leaf now correctly protects Tier 2 plants from saganaki blasts during a merge.
• Fix: Wrangle Kelp and Mangle Kelp now correctly attack Buzz Boxes only when they are within their attack range.

UI & UX 📱

• Fix: Message titles in the Inbox are now more stable when you're quickly switching between messages.
• Fix: An issue that caused a "Not Enough Gems" message to appear incorrectly in a Plant Pass has been resolved.
• Fix: The text for Upgrade and Unlock pack pop-ups has been adjusted to fit perfectly in all supported languages.
• Fix: The Pre-Combat screen for Adventure Level 17 now has the correct sorting order.
• Fix: Sticker names with multiple lines now fit neatly on Profile portraits without overlapping the rarity text.
• Fix: The Almanac now correctly displays the "Weak Against" information for the Magma Zombie.
• Fix: The store tutorial now plays as intended for all players on their first visit.
• Fix: The Pre-combat screen now appears correctly in Expedition mode.
• Fix: The inbox messages for Weekly Meter 20 and 21 now show the correct plant icons.
• Fix: The Almanac now accurately shows Sling Pea's area-of-effect.
• Fix: The body header for the Plant Pass inbox message now appears correctly.
• Fix: The body icons for the Weekly Newsletter and Plant Pass inbox messages are now correct.
• Fix: The Headers and Art for various Inbox messages have been restored.
• Fix: The reward portrait icon for Expedition Level 20 now displays correctly.
• Fix: Zombie stickers now have the proper masked appearance in reward pop-ups.
• Fix: The Pre-Game screen for Adventure Levels 15, 16, and 20 now correctly shows the Balloon Zombie.

General ⚙️

• Fix: The narrative dialogues for levels 121 and 125 have been restored.
• Fix: The "Win any Lawn Patrol level on Medium" quest now correctly requires a win to complete.
• Fix: Resolved a reward mismatch for Milestone 4 in Weekly Meters 20 and 21.
• Fix: The "Vanquish a Chicken with Spikeweed (Level 8)" quest now requires completion on Level 8 specifically.
• Fix: Prevented the Volleyball Zombie from appearing in levels 61-65.
• Fix: Pre-battle and boss battle conversations in Adventure Issues 5 and 6 now show up correctly.

As development continues, Neighborville keeps getting bigger and we'll continue welcoming new regions to Early Access over the coming months. If you encounter any unexpected lawn-related incidents, check our Known Issues list first. If your particular bug hasn't made the list yet, let us know on the forums and we'll send the gardening crew after it.  And stay tuned to our channels for more on upcoming content updates and gameplay updates.

See you on the lawn! 🌱